


Starchaser

by Emimar



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-12-15
Updated: 2015-01-18
Packaged: 2018-03-01 14:58:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,666
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2777399
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Emimar/pseuds/Emimar
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Title: Starchaser<br/>Author: Space Wolf (Emimar On Archive of Our Own)<br/>Characters: Original Characters<br/>Era: Original Trilogy Era<br/>Category: Action, Romance<br/>Summary: Cyhen Hes meets Kopek, who she thinks may fill the void left by the death of Byak. Ryqik and Nakita Dek find it hard to survive on the streets of Nar Shaddaa after the deaths of their parents. Azet, a former Jedi Padawan, falls deeper into the Darkside of the Force. Rivik and Nidet, two Paladins, become increasingly dissatisfied with the Empire's methods.<br/>Disclaimers: I have not, am not, and will not receive any profit from the creation of this story. I do not own any of the canon Star Wars characters that feature in this story.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I will be editing the chapters as I post this on here because it is an old story and I want to fix some mistakes I made in it to make it better than it is. Posting of it will be quite slow as a result. When I update a chapter, I'll make a comment in the comment sections. Enjoy it, dear readers. The story is rather old and I do hope that I have improved my story telling over the years, but it was one of the first stories I wrote which could be considered to have merit, as it were, so even now it remains one of my favourites.

CHAPTER 1

Ryqik woke up early. Something seemed to compel him to move, to get out. He slipped out of bed and dressed quickly, taking no notice of the fact that the clothes were dirty. He padded out of his room and went along the short corridor to where his younger sister slept. He knocked softly on the door and got no response. He opened it, the door creaking softly on its decade old hinges.

He peered inside. Nakita was curled up and resembled a furry cushion on top of her bed. Evidently she had found it too warm to sleep under the covers. Light filtered through the window and fell on to her furry muzzle, highlighting the subtle greys and browns. Her ears twitched and he thought that she would wake up, but she continued having her adventures inside her world of dreams. Ryqik felt that he could watch his sister sleep forever, so peaceful she was! He didn't want to disturb her. The sudden need to get out of the house that woke him seemed to be fading away.

Silly, he told himself. Nothing could happen here.

Just as he was about to leave and head back to his room, the sudden need to get out pushed at his mind again. It was so strong that it scraped the inside of his skull.

He crept further inside the room until he was level with Nakita's head and clamped his hand-paw over her mouth and nose. She whimpered softly and sharp pain shot through his fingers as needle sharp teeth nipped him. He drew his hand back in surprise, like someone touching a pan that was too hot to be handled and let out a yip of pain.

"Kita!"

Nakita's orange-yellow eyes flicked open. Ryqik clamped his hand over her muzzle and gestured her to be quiet. He removed his hand and she whispered, "What is it?"

"We have to get out of here. Hurry, get dressed."

Nakita hissed at him, wondering what was so important that her brother would come into her room and wake her up like this.

"Go back to sleep, Ryqik!"

Nakita rolled over so that her back was to him and closed her eyes. The impulse to go was getting more urgent now.

"Kita we have to go. Now!" he snapped, sounding more angry than he intended, his feelings of dread seeping through into his voice.

Kita sighed, pushed her legs over the side of the bed and sleepily got to her feet. Nakita took a little more time over choosing something to wear than her brother had, partly because she wanted to frustrate her brother because he had woken her up when she was having a wonderful dream: of trees and wildflowers, somewhere more beautiful than where she was now, a place that she had never seen but deep inside knew it existed and one day would go there. The other reason was that she just assumed he'd woken her for another silly game of his, not that she didn't enjoy them but she just didn't appreciate getting woken up early in the morning for them! Ryqik waited impatiently. Part of him wanted to go and wake up his parents, but Nakita was taking such a long time already...there just wouldn't be enough time.

He breathed a sigh when she finally got dressed. She was just about to start looking for her favourite toy when Ryqik grabbed her arm, digging his claws in.

"Hey!"

Ryqik stepped over to the window and opened it. He clambered up onto the window sill and jumped down out the other side, landing with a thud on the ferrocreate. A few moments later, he heard the scrabble of claws as Nakita followed suit. He caught her smaller body as she jumped down and with his arm still wrapped about her waist, he led her into hiding behind a pile of rubble just as a repulsor lift truck showed up. Any thought of games and annoyance at being woken up fled Nakita's mind as it was replaced by an instinctive dread.

He felt her tremble in fear against him as a squad of Stormtroopers began piling out. A large Shistavanen male followed the Stormtroopers out of the vehicle and looked over in the direction of their hiding place. He sniffed the air a couple of times, detecting no scent and turned back to the Stormtrooper squad. She struggled against him.

"Mother and Father are still inside!"

It took all his strength to keep her from going back into the building.

"We can't do anything, Kita."

He clung on to her protectively and sensing he was right, Nakita sank back into him, still trembling in fear, hoping their parents would find a way out as the Stormtroopers filed inside. She felt like screaming as she heard blaster shots fired inside, but she didn't, knowing that if she uttered a sound now that they would be dead too.

***

The servo-motor of Kopek's mechanical arm whirred as he dropped his hand to his hip and drew his broadsword. He marched through the lounge ahead of the Stormtrooper squad and came up on Nykit standing in the doorway. He heard the soft padding of a running female heading down the corridor.

"There is nowhere to hide, traitor."

Nykit made no reply as he swung his sword at Kopek. The Shistavanen Warrior blocked it, steel clanging on steel as the sword blades met. Kopek's face creased in a snarl, his teeth glinting in the low lit corridor. A growl escaped Nykit's lips as he drew back his heavy blade and crossed swords with him again. A Stormtrooper tried to attack Nykit, only to have the Shistavanen bring the hilt of his sword smashing down on the helmet, shattering the man's skull. Kopek roared at the Stormtroopers to pursue Nykit's mate.

"This one is mine!"

The two Shistavanens circled each other like a pair of strutting wild animals. This time Kopek chose to take the offensive, charging forward, pressing his opponent up against the wall of the corridor. Nykit landed a kick in Kopek's midsection, pushing him back against the wall opposite before bring his blade up to intercept Kopek's next stroke. They broke apart almost immediately only to make contact again, testing both their strength against their own. Saliva dribbled from Nykit's mouth as he stared into the eyes of Kopek. He saw nothing but cruelty there and a desire to kill that would sicken even a predator. Somewhere in the maze of corridors there was the sound of shots being fired. 

***

Lyet searched Ryqik's room desperately. She flung open the door to his wardrobe, used the Force to levitate the bed. Nothing. Ryqik was nowhere to be found. If she had just stopped to think, to calm herself as Shirak had taught her, then she would have found both her children and got away, but her panic made her thoughts irrational and erratic. She forgot the Jedi calming techniques her brother Shirak had taught her.

She was still searching the room when the first of the Stormtroopers appeared in the doorway. She dropped to the ground and rolled to avoid the first shot before coming lightly to her feet and activating her silver blade. It hummed and crackled as she swung it effectively through the air to block the next blaster shot and sent it ricocheting back at the trooper who had fired it.

She moved forward on nimble feet, deflecting the next shot fired at her before cutting through her next assailant. The corridor was clear of enemies now and she stepped over the bodies. Perhaps Ryqik had gone to Nakita's room and that was where she would find them both.

She encountered another pair of Stormtroopers on her way to her daughter's room, cutting them down without thought or feeling, her only concern getting to her children and protecting them from harm.

***

Nykit drew first blood, slashing Kopek across the chest with his blade. Kopek howled in pain and anger, swinging his sword with such force that it shattered both swords on impact. Kopek kicked with all his power at Nykit's midsection, knocking him to the ground. Before he could recover, Kopek drew his blaster set on full power and fired at point blank range a couple of times.

Fire washed over Nykit and he struggled to hold on to life. He tried drawing in a deep breath but his lungs wouldn't respond. He gargled as blood poured into his throat and dripped out of his mouth.

Kopek shot him once more for good measure, just to make sure that he was in fact, indeed, dead.  
Joy flooded Kopek's bitter and twisted soul, though he would have loved to make his victim suffer a slower and more painful death. He growled in amusement as he went off in search of Nykit's mate.

***

Lyet howled in anguish when she discovered the absence of her children. Then she spotted the open window and the scent of her little ones leading up to it. Pain ripped through her mind as she felt her mate die. She lowered her head and closed her eyes to shut out the pain. Just as she made her mind up to leave, she felt fire sting her back.

She turned, anger making her strong. She lifted one Stormtrooper up off the floor with the Force and flung him with all her hatred against the wall.

Her pups were gone and her mate was dead and all because of these abominations. She had nothing left now accept her desire for vengeance.

She cut down the last of the Stormtroopers just as pain and grief over came her. Her knees lost all their power to support her body and she collapsed to the floor. She was not aware when Kopek entered the room behind her. He padded up behind her softly before seizing the scruff of her neck with his mechanical hand. His artificial fingers pinched the back of her neck. He tilted her head up as he drew his vibroblade, stabbing it into her neck as the base of her skull. Lyet died instantly, her body disappeared before his eyes leaving only a pile of clothes.

***

Kopek sank down into the nerf hide covered pilot's seat of his ship, the Blooded Scimitar. He tore off the patch that covered his left eye and poked the holocam replacement with the index finger of his flesh hand. He had lost the eye in a fight as an adolescent when he was training to be a Paladin, a cast of elite warriors and hunters whose sole purpose was, in a historical sense, to protect the Senator of the Uvena System. It was Nykit who had been responsible for the loss of his eye. Part of him was satisfied that he had finally gotten his revenge for making him a freak. At the same time as the accident, it was also discovered that Kopek possessed a rare gene that gave him an allergy to bacta. The bacta that the doctors had used to treat him had almost killed him.

The last Senator of the Uvena System had betrayed the Republic during the Clone Wars and lost much of the loyalty of her protectors, the majority of which saw her fall from power as an opportunity for their own gain. Nykit had been one who had stuck by her and for that he deserved death. After much searching, Kopek had found his hideout and that of the Senator's daughter...

His arm he had lost in a fight with Shirak, another one of the traitors who had once been a member of the Jedi Order before he disappeared. Because of his allergy to bacta, Kopek had to have the rest of the arm amputated and replaced with a mechanical one.

In many ways, his enhancements made him more powerful. His mechanical eye allowed him to see light wavelengths that he wouldn't see with his real eye and his mechanical arm was twenty times more powerful than his flesh one. On the other hand, they also made him a freak, an oddity. This made social situations difficult for him as very few Shistavanens had mechanical enhancements. As for females, they tended to shy away from him. Not even his status as an Archetype gave him any advantages there.

His only purpose was to hunt the enemies of his brother, Za. Kopek's first assignment had been to kill Korta Sarc, the Alpha Premier of the Paladins after the fall of the Uvena System to Republic forces in the early days of the Clone Wars. Kopek had succeeded in that but Za had lost out to Rivik who was now the Alpha Premier of the Paladins and a suspected Rebel Sympathiser.

Kopek was bitter and violent, cruel and merciless. Not because he had set out to be like that, but because others treated him as inferior, as useless because of his affliction. They inflicted pain on him and he liked inflicting pain on others. It was the only thing that gave him any real satisfaction. When the world was bitter and brutal to you, isn't it only fair that you return those feelings by being bitter and brutal back? 

***

It was a long time before Ryqik found the courage to emerge from the rubble and renter the building. Nakita had cried herself to sleep and he left her there. He didn't want her to see what had happened to their parents and he had to check to see if they were still alive. He peered cautiously inside the hall way. The scent of ozone, blood and death was strong and he swallowed his fear. He had to know.

The lounge looked like a proton torpedo had hit it, broken furniture and other objects scattered everywhere. At least one thing was intact. A hologram of their family. He picked it up and wiped the grime and dust off it before pocketing it.

He found the blackened body of his father in the doorway to his parents' bedroom, his father's shattered broadsword still in his hand. But still, he had fought bravely, giving Ryqik's mother time to check on her children, to try to get them to safety. He passed the body, the sight and smell of it making him feel sick. He caught his mother's scent and found it led to Nakita's bedroom.

He discovered five dead Stormtroopers and a pile of clothes belonging to his mother but no body. Beside the pile of clothes, he found a chrome cylinder. He picked it up and depressed the button on the side and a silver shaft of light sprung from one end, passing through the remains of Nakita's bed.

He had heard enough of the Jedi to know what it was but part of him didn't want to believe it. His mother a Jedi? No Way!

He depressed the button again and the shaft disappeared. There was the scent of a strange male Shistavanen all about the house. Ryqik breathed it deep, committing the scent to memory. He had to get back to Nakita. He didn't want her to wake up scared and alone, thinking she'd lost him too. He did a quick search of the house and other than finding some crusty, nasty tasting survival rations and a warm blanket, he found nothing useful.

He threw up the contents of his stomach when he left the building, sinking down with his back pressed up against the wall while he recovered his faculties. He spat out the foul taste of bile, glad that Nakita hadn't seen what he had.

Nakita woke up when he re-entered their hiding place. Just one look at her brother told Nakita that their parents were gone. Ryqik offered her one of the rations.

"I'm not hungry, Ryqik." How could she eat at a time like this? Her stomach left hollow and empty inside, though strangely, she didn't feel like eating.

"LOOK YOU HAVE TO EAT!" Ryqik snarled at her, angry at the Stormtroopers, the strange Shistavanen, his parents for being dead and Nakita for being a stubborn little lupa.

Nakita let out a series of whines that got more high pitched with every second that passed. Ryqik inched over to her and wrapped his arm around her shoulders until it passed, realising that she was just a pup. "I'm sorry, Kita."

When she recovered, Nakita realised that she was hungry and accepted one of the survival rations. After they had eaten, they curled up to sleep together under the blanket, body heat and the scent of their bodies keeping them warm and giving them comfort on their first night alone in the galaxy. 

***

Kopek had to leave the Blooded Scimitar docked on the Imperial Star Destroyer, Dauntless that orbited Uvena Prime and make planetside in an Imperial Lander. Kopek would have much preferred to go down in his vessel - he hated the stares and whispered derogatory comments uttered by the Imperial drones, known as the Star Destroyer’s deck officers.

A source of annoyance was that he had to share the passenger compartment with two Imperial officers, Commander Navunax and Commander Mellibai. Kopek had met the two commanders before on a few occasions, but didn’t know them well.

Navunax was a young, efficient looking human (at least he thought he gave that appearance.), with short cropped dark hair, in his late twenties. Think of arrogant, well-off desk monkey cum TIE Fighter Commander. Kopek doubted he would last five seconds in a Paladin training match.

Mellibai was older and beginning to grow a spare tyre around his stomach, the result of too much time sitting around at his desk on the Star Destroyer and not enough time out in the field. He had a missing finger on his right hand that suggested he was the officer in charge of ground forces and Kopek almost felt a kinship with the human because of it, which made his skin crawl. He sported a neatly trimmed beard and hair, both of which were beginning to grey.

Both, however, avoided conversation and Kopek was glad of that. It was bad enough that he had to share the cabin with them, never mind having to listen to their mewing of how great they were because they were Imperials.

After what seemed like an eternity, the Imperial Lander docked on a landing platform on the edge of the Government Sector of Terhan, the capital of Uvena Prime. Kopek was glad to get out of the confines of the Imperial Lander and out of the Military docking bay. There was a larger Spaceport that catered for commercial shipping and tourism (what little there was of it.), the Military docking bay was reserved for Imperial Personnel and VIPs.

The first thing Kopek noticed was that it was the middle of the day on that side of Uvena Prime.

To the north was his destination, the Hall of the Paladin Council. He would have to debrief the mission before his peers and the Imperial Governor, which he was so not looking forward to.

Terhan was composed of three main sectors. The government buildings, Including what was once the Senator’s Palace, which was now, among other things, home to the Imperial Governor, serving as a retreat from the hustle of Uvena Prime, the real home of the Uvena System’s Central Government and the Hall of the Paladin Council. These were raised above the rest of the city on a plateau like some ancient sleeping monster. Once the symbol of freedom and justice for the inhabitants of Uvena Prime and the rest of the System. Now, it was the heart of a corrupt and evil regime that had Uvena Prime in its grip. The greed and darkness of Palpatine had stretched far in the galaxy and like trees striped of leaves in winter months did hope barely cling to life.

In the centre of the government plaza, was a giant statue of Palpatine standing twelve metres high. Once, a statue of the Senator Mizet had stood in its place, next to a statue of the Jedi Master Raqak. But after their betrayal of Palpatine’s New Order, the statues had been torn down and replaced by the one of Palpatine.

Most of the Paladins lived in the palace, in the lower levels of its megalithic structure, but Kopek lived apart, on the border between the government sector and the trade sector. Most of the trade sector was run down now, the result of heavy taxation and the abolition of ship building on Uvena III, the industrial heart of the system, imposed as a way of subduing the Shistavanen opposition to the Empire. Some lucky individuals had gotten contracts for space exploration, searching for rebel settlements but after a few scouts had defected to the rebels, that activity was outlawed and even those who had gotten off the planet were out of employment.

The largest sector consisted of housing for the civilians and weapons factories for the Empire. There had once been the Uvenan University of Starship Engineering which had been responsible for the building of the Uvenan fleet, but the Empire had forced that to close and its students, researchers and professors were now forced to work for the Empire in the weapons factories.

Kopek reached the steps leading into the Hall of the Paladins. He had walked there from the Military docking bay partly to delay his arrival at the Hall and partly because he didn’t want to end up unfit like Mallibai.

As he made his way to the Council Chamber, he passed through corridors lined with wooden paneling and paintings depicting prominent Paladin warriors of the past.

Surprisingly, little had changed here since the latter days of the old Republic. But even among the Paladins, the last vestige of the old ways had began to show signs of rot.

When he entered the Chamber, the Council, along with several Imperials had gathered. Governor Riyadah was sat in the centre of the round table that was shaped with the symbol of the Empire at the far end of the room. He was flanked by Captain Jed Darkfyre, the officer in charge of the Dauntless on his right. On his left was the grotesque obese figure of Laej, Riyadah’s aide. Flanking each of these were Commander Navunax and Commander Mellibai, both of whom had gotten there before him because they had taken a speeder. Directly opposite Riyadah sat Rivik, the current Alpha Premier of the Paladins. At either side of him was seated the Senior Paladins, Nidet and Kopek’s brother, Za.

To make sure that the Paladins behaved themselves, there were Stormtroopers to guard the Governor and his Officers.

“It is good of you to finally arrive, Paladin Kopek,” Riyadah said.

“The mission was a success. Senator Mizet’s daughter Lyet and the traitor Nykit are dead,” Kopek reported.

“Where are the Stormtroopers that accompanied you on the mission?” Commander Mellibai asked.

“They died on the mission. You have so many of them that it wouldn’t make much difference.”

“You lost a whole squad of Stormtroopers to eliminate two aliens?” Laej asked, contempt in his voice. “This is what happens when you send an animal to do a man’s job.”

“Excuse me, Aide, but those men who accompanied Paladin Kopek are dead. It’s not a matter of whether humans are better than Shistavanens, but who is the better warrior,” Nidet said.

“Besides, Lyet was the spawn of a Jedi. A squad of your clones are nothing to them,” Za said, on one of the rare occasions that he defended his brother. “Now that they are gone, there is no threat to our control of the Uvena System.”

“Our control? Don’t you mean the Empire’s control?” Laej said, smugly. In spite of the fact that he was a mere Aide, he had a tendency to be conceited.

“You may have control of our System, human, but you lack the control of the Shistavanen soul…,” Nidet retorted.

Rivik silenced her with a dark look. “We are not here to fight with our allies, Nidet.”

Nidet flattened her ears against her skull. “Of course, Alpha Premier. Accept my apologies.”

“Paladin Kopek, would you mind relating to us exactly what happened?” Governor Riyadah asked. 

***

Night had fallen over the city of Terhan when Kopek left the Hall of the Paladin Council. As he left, he was torn between heading home or visiting one of the cantinas in the civilian sector. The cantinas seemed to be the only places that did well in the city. Everyone needed to forget their problems and the best way to do that was to drown themselves in alcohol. Kopek had to agree with them as he decided on the latter.

After spending the best part of twelve hours being interrogated by the Senior Archetypes and getting ridiculed for losing his whole Stormtrooper contingent by the Aide of the Imperial Governor for the Uvena System and its out lying sectors, Kopek needed to wind down.

Get into a couple of brawls, maybe and if he was really lucky find a female to spend sometime with. He walked to the cantina, making his way through the winding streets, thinking. He took pleasure in walking the streets at night. There were so few to stare at his mechanical arm. That was what people usually saw when they met him. They didn't see him as a warrior, only as a freak with a machine for a limb.

He entered his usual hunting ground, a cantina called the Drunken Ronto which was run by a human male with what seemed to be five or six beer bellies. Silly name, really but he didn't go for that. He liked the live band when they had one (emphasis on the word live: the band usually got smoked if they sucked) and the Lomin ale was excellent and inexpensive. The other reason why he liked the place was because it was frequented by bounty hunters, smugglers, mercenaries and the like. There was always something to keep him amused. Then there was the occasional Rebel, whom he just loved to dispatch because they were there. Rebels.

With his mechanical eye, he didn't need to stand at the top of the stairs for his eyes to adjust to the darkness. Smoke from several intoxicants made grey trails in the air. On the far wall, a holoscreen played a tacky holodrama depicting a Jedi who had fallen in love with a princess from twenty years ago. No one was paying it much attention. Tacky holodrama aside, there was one final reason he liked to visit the Drunken Ronto.

There was her. That golden furred Shistavanen Wolfwoman. The authorities wanted her dead or captured alive because she was a smuggler and a suspected Rebel Sympathiser.

He wondered if she was there now as he wondered over to the bar. Most of the patrons moved to get out of his way. When he got to the bar and waited for his drink, he noticed the golden furred Shistavanen sat at a table in a corner talking with a known Rebel suspect.

As a Paladin, he was familiar with Rebel suspects.

He sipped his drink slowly, glancing every so often through the corner of his eye, to make sure she was still there.

***

Cyhen recognised Kopek as soon as he'd walked in. The mechanical arm and the fake eye gave him away. She didn't know him by name but by the fact that he had shown an interest in her previously and Cyhen's suspicions were only heightened when he got to the bar and looked in her direction.

"I think we shall have to leave this for another time," she said to her companion.

The human nodded his agreement.

"I'll contact you by the usual means," Cyhen told him as he stood up and left. Cyhen knew him only as Darkmoon, which was obviously a code name.

She stayed after her companion left, not wanting to appear paranoid and studied the cyborg in more detail. There was something about him that she found compelling, attractive even, but she sensed a brutal-ness about him. Not that she was a Jedi or Force sensitive in any way. She'd just had enough experience to know a psycho when she saw one.

She took note of the behaviour of the crowd about him. Humans and other species gave him a wide berth, unless they themselves were large and powerful and felt like they could take him on in a fight. Other Shistavanens avoided him too, not because they were afraid of him like the others, but because of his differences, notably his prosthetic arm. Most people aren't bad to begin with. Most have it forced upon them by their circumstances or because of being hurt in the past. Some rise above it, some don't and others have never known any different and so don't change.

Cyhen had no love for the Empire. During her childhood, her parents had been massacred by the Clone Army during the Clone Wars. Her "Uncle", an ageing Paladin who had trained her father, had raised her. When she was about fourteen, she returned home to find her uncle murdered and her home in ruins. She'd buried his body and planted a sapling on his grave that while in life he had grown from seeds gathered in the forest. She'd constructed a barrier around the grave to stop wild animals from damaging the sapling and left the ruins behind.

After a year doing what ever work she could to survive, she joined up with some mercenaries, learning the art of survival. When she turned sixteen, she became the lover of their leader, a male Shistavanen called Byak. The group disbanded after one of their members had betrayed them to a rival band. Byak had been killed and she inherited Byak's ship, the Starchaser.

Cyhen finished her reminiscing of the past and drained the last of her drink. She decided to leave then and draped the shapeless cloak over her head and shoulders as she left her seat.

***

From his place at the bar, Kopek noticed the golden furred female leave and a dark figure follow her. This tugged at his curiosity and he rose from his stool to follow her, leaving his glass half full. He kept a distance of ten metres between them.

Outside, the stars had been obscured by clouds and a light drizzle was falling from the sky, wetting the wiry guard hairs of his dark brown pelt. His mechanical eye picked up the small indents in the grit covered road left by the sharp claws of their feet. There were two distinct sets. A small set, obviously the golden furred female's and a larger set which indicated a male slightly smaller than himself. He sniffed the air and recognised the scent of one of the Paladins. It was weak, the scent obscured by the drizzle and the invisible trail of pheromones left by the female.

It was Jahen, a young arrogant male whom Kopek couldn't stand at all. He smiled to himself as his hand moved to the disrupter holstered on his hip. Then he changed his mind and opted for his vibroblade. He couldn't risk hitting the golden furred female by accident.

He could find a use for her, perhaps even-

No, she'd never go with him.

He forced himself to focus on the task at hand.

***

Cyhen knew from the moment she stepped out of the cantina and into the night drizzle that she was being followed. The cloak protected her from the rain and she was glad of having the hindsight to bring it out with her. Mostly it was to disguise her unusual fur colour. Golden fur was not common among her species. It was mostly dark brown, black, dark grey or a combination of the colours. A pelt of only white fur was uncommon except in the regions close to the poles. Albinos were almost unheard of.

There were few walking the streets at this hour and the closeness of the buildings made her feel uneasy, like prey that knew it was being hunted and had no way of knowing from where the predator might strike.

She didn't head for the shoddy flat that over looked the the spaceport where her beautiful Starchaser was docked. To go there would be like inviting a Krayt Dragon home. She didn't want to be out of control of the situation and decided to choose the strike herself.

Her hand dropped to the blaster at her hip and she turned suddenly to fend off her pursuer. The large male reacted before she could fire, kicking the blaster from her hand with practiced ease before knocking her forcefully to the ground.

Cyhen held her hand in pain as she watched death approach her. The large male hefted his broadsword and Cyhen closed her eyes, waiting for the blow to take her life, but it didn't come. She opened her eyes and her attacker lay dead to one side, killed by a vibroblade hurled at the base of his skull.

Standing over her was the male with the prosthetic arm and eye. The rain had begun to fall heavier now and fell in large, heavy drops that not even the cloak could protect her from. He held out his flesh paw to her, she took it and helped her to her feet.

"Thank you," she murmured as their eyes met. She looked away nervously.

"No problem," he knelt down in the rain to retrieve his vibroblade and then turned his disrupter on the body to destroy all evidence of his death.

"We'd better get out of this rain. My flat isn't far from here," Cyhen said.

The only evidence that anyone had actually been killed there was the blood that was washed away by the rain.

***

There wasn't much in Cyhen's flat accept things that made it liveable. She was away a lot and found little time to accumulate things that she didn't need for survival. In fact, her ship the Starchaser was more comfortable, but at least the ceiling didn't rain like it was doing now.

The poky kitchen opened out into the lounge area that consisted of a chair, a holovid and a table. The only other rooms were a bedroom and a bathroom. Cyhen had moved into the flat shortly after Byak was killed, leaving most of her possessions behind in the haste to find a place to live where her old enemies couldn't track her down.

From the floor where he sat, Kopek watched Cyhen who had changed into a tight fitting purple top and blue trousers make a warm drink to chase away the chills brought on by the rain. Kopek was draped in a blanket while his clothes dried on a radiator. Cyhen returned from the kitchen with a pair of steaming mugs of hot chocolate in her hands. Outside, the wind bashed droplets of rain so hard against the window that Kopek thought it would shatter. She passed one of the mugs to Kopek who took it with his flesh hand.

Cyhen set hers down on the table as she sat opposite him.

"It looks like the rain will be here for the night. You can stay here, if you wish."

Kopek nodded. Part of him wanted to go, but he forced himself to stay. He'd had enough of running away from things that might make him happy. Perhaps this was going to be a good night after all.

"Why did you save me?" Cyhen blurted out suddenly.

Kopek considered his answer. The most obvious and truthful one that came to mind was that he found her attractive and wanted to spend the night with her, but if he said that, she'd likely kick him in a very sensitive area and so wouldn't do. So he told her the first of his half truths.

"I couldn't let Jahen kill you. He was intruding in my sector and I couldn't allow that."

Cyhen looked at him confused. "I don't understand-"

"I'm a Paladin. So was he."

Cyhen nodded her understanding. "That's why you destroyed the body, correct?"

"Yes."

Cyhen regarded him sceptically for a moment. "I thought you were a bounty hunter," she said, trying to trap him. She'd been hunted by bounty hunters before and from what her uncle told her, Paladins just didn't go round killing each other, but then that was before the Empire...

Kopek creased his lips to reveal his long canines in amusement. "In a way, my kind are."

Cyhen still didn't know what to make of him, but he had saved her life. Cyhen reached forward and deliberately ran her hand over his mechanical arm. It was cold to the touch. Kopek stared into her eyes. His prosthetics didn't repulse her.

Cyhen suddenly felt tired and she finished the rest of her drink.

"Sure you'll be alright out here tonight?" Cyhen asked him. She still felt shaken over the attack and felt she could do with the company of someone.

"I'll be fine, Cyhen," Kopek replied, cursing himself for his own stupidity.

"You know where to find me if you change your mind."

***

Cyhen lay awake for almost a hour waiting for Kopek to appear in the doorway. The sound of him snoring, a load rumbling sound mixed with the occasional growl reached her ears through the thin door. She sighed and turned over onto her side before finally dropping off to sleep alone.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

A growling stomach woke Nakita from her sleep. For a moment she wondered where she was and then remembered all the events that had occurred the day before. The fear, the loss of her parents. Part of her didn't want to believe it, part of her couldn't believe it. The ground was hard and her back was stiff.

She got up to stretch, her movement waking up Ryqik. He rolled on to his back and sat up before heaving himself up from the cold ground.

"What do we do now?" Nakita asked.

"I don't know, Kita. Find food, I guess."

He took hold of Nakita's hand and they wondered out into the streets. It soon became clear that without any money they wouldn't get anything to eat and short of getting lucky and finding a lost wallet, they wouldn't get any money. Ryqik had forgotten to look for it in his grief and he didn't want to go back to the scene of his parents' death. Most people just ignored them, seeing that they weren't worth bothering about because they didn't have anything. Store owners shoed them away from their establishments because they didn't trust street urchins. No one gave them a sympathetic glance. Passers by didn't have anytime for them, or just didn't care and in a place like Nar Shaddaa being unnoticed was probably the best strategy they had for survival, because if you did call attention to yourself, that usually resulted in getting your brains splattered. They witnessed one such unlucky thief fall foul of that.

By midday, neither of them could stand the hunger anymore and they perched on a ruined wall, watching, waiting, looking for a chance. One street vendor selling fried dewback ribs was getting alot of business. The problem was that the owner was a Gotal. But with all the sentients around, then surely one of them would get close enough to sneak something away without being noticed.

A plan was already forming in Ryqik's mind and he quietly communicated it to Nakita. Nakita left the wall and pushed her way through the press of pedestrians until she was close to the stand. Ryqik went to the opposite end of the stand and accidentally on purpose bumped a vat of cooking oil as he pretended to trip up, spilling it all over a nearby Aqualish. The enraged Aqualish took a swing at him with his fist, which the lithe young Shistavanen was quick enough to dodge. The Aqualish's punch connected with a Trandoshan instead and a fight ensued.

In the following confusion, Nakita pilfered two portions of dewback ribs and slunk away without being noticed. They met up a couple of blocks away.

Ryqik grinned at her. "That was fun," he said.

"Hey, smooth move back there," a male Bothan a little older than Nakita said, coming to a stop a half a metre away from them. "Name's Ziqi, expert thief. I've been trying to pull one over on Horns for months and not succeeded."

"If you're such an expert, how come you've never succeeded?" Ryqik said. "Beat it, flea."

"Ryqik, stop being horrible," Nakita said, turning to the Bothan. "I'm Nakita."

"That's a nice name," Ziqi said. "I meant to congratulate you and not him anyway. Draws too much attention to himself, like a Wookiee at an Imp's cocktail party. Though, I've got some moves I could teach you."

"Yeah, I bet you have," Ryqik snarled at him. "Let's go, Kita. Mother told us never to associate with street rats."

"But we're street rats, now too, Ryqik. He could know things..."

"He's only after our food, Kita. Come on." He grabbed hold of Nakita's arm and dragged her away.

"Suit ya self, newbee! You won't last a week without my help!" Ziqi yelled after them.

After a few minutes of searching, they found an abandoned apartment to eat in. The lower levels of Nar Shaddaa were honeycombed with old abandoned and forgotten hideaways that were the homes and refuges of street urchins. Ryqik found some old rags and blankets that he made into a comfortable seat and they settled down to eat their stolen meal. Yes, it had been fun but they both felt frightened and alone and both wished they could go home but knew that was impossible. Ryqik had not told her what he had found in their home. He told her the bodies of their parents had been taken away. There was no need to upset her unduly.

After eating, Nakita went to sleep. Ryqik watched her breathing until he himself became tired and slept himself, wondering how they would get through tomorrow.

***

Za looked out of the window to the giant mountains to the north. He could look at them for hours, losing himself in the rocky features. The tops were so high that they were constantly obscured by clouds. A deciduous forest grew at the base of the range and slowly turned into a coniferous forest the higher up in altitude you went. In the winter, the deciduous line was barren and devoid of colour but the coniferous line retained the green all year round. Then as it became too cold and dry for trees to grow, short stubby shrubs grew in cracks sheltered from the battering wind until even they couldn't find a foothold and the mountain became just bare rock and ice.

Part of Za's Paladin training had been to climb the mountains and to survive without contact with the outside world for six months. Not all the trainees in his group had survived. Some fell victim to lose rocks and plummeted to their deaths, others starved from lack of food, (if you didn't catch anything, then you didn't eat.) and the cold was too much for some.

It had all been necessary to protect her, Mizet, the betrayer. Za himself had not escaped unscathed by the ordeal. His mate had been among those that had died. As he looked out at the mountains, he thought of her. Still, like most dangerous things, the mountains had held their own beauty, the views, clean stream water trickling down the mountain and the clear stars at night when above the cloud line.

Soon, it would all the Uvena System would be his. All he had to do now was eliminate Mizet's son and then depose Rivik and the Imperial Governor.

He turned from the window and took the private turbolift down into the basement where he practiced his fighting techniques.

***

He wasn't surprised to find Azet meditating in the basement. Azet was his right hand, when he needed subtlety instead of brute force to meet his ends. Kopek was good at bullying, threatening and cracking heads but sometimes the best weapon he needed was information about what his enemies were up to and Azet was the best way of getting that information.

She had been a frightened sixteen year old when he and Za had found her, just after the fall of the Jedi Temple. She was just a Padawan at the time, being hunted by Palpatine's minions to eradicate all traces of the Jedi and any who might be a threat to his power. Za had saved her from all of that, seeing a way he could use her skills to his advantage. He'd given Kopek the task of finding forbidden Sith artifacts for her, so she could learn the ways of the Sith and get revenge on those who had killed and persecuted her friends.

From her Jedi training, she knew the fighting techniques of lightsabre combat. Za and Kopek had taught her the techniques of the Paladins and Azet blended the two together to form a style that was her own.

However, it takes more than skill with a lightsabre coupled with hatred and anger and a desire for revenge to make a successful Sith or Dark Jedi. You needed patience and subtlety, an ability to deceive and manipulate while at the same time appearing honourable and the champion of good causes on the outside.

That is what makes a Sith a dangerous foe, and enabled Palpatine to rise to power under the very noses of the Jedi Council. Deceiving a bunch of Imperials would be easy compared to that!

Azet had been working to eliminate Za's rivals among the Paladins. First, she searched for an indiscretion, such as a connection to smuggling, treason (working with the Rebels or plotting to depose Palpatine and put themselves in power.), anything dark or devious that would result in their fall. Sometimes she didn't find anything and when that occurred, she'd fabricate something or trick them into doing something illegal.

So far, she'd never killed anyone directly, though her activities had caused the execution of many of Za's enemies. The only one he had been unable to touch was Rivik. Most thought she was just Za's lover and in a way they were right.

After several long minutes, Azet rose gracefully from her cross-legged posture and turned her intense yellow eyed gaze upon him. She had jet black fur with silver tipped hairs on her face and hands. She was dressed in a tight top and short trousers that ended just below her knees, the way she always did when training.

She regarded Za and bared her teeth at him playfully before using the Force to float a steel sword into her hands. Without saying a word, Za drew his. They circled each other for a moment before clashing their blades together, Za relying on the power of his muscles to win the fight.

Azet fought with speed and manipulation, trying to lure Za into making a mistake that would cost him his life in a real fight situation. Za didn't fall for her deceptions easily. He had practiced with her, trained with her and knew most of her tricks by heart.

Azet became a little frustrated as Za counteracted every single one of them, she was becoming predictable, it seemed and she hated that. She also knew that to lose her temper completely would be her downfall, in that she would take a stupid risk in her frustration and end up losing the fight. That was exactly what Za wanted her to do. Perhaps Za wouldn't have made a bad Sith, if he had been Force sensitive.

She continued being predictable for a while, deflecting Za's blows, leading him into an over confidence that would be his undoing.

Za's face was a mask of single minded determination, not revealing the joy that he felt inside. He was winning, or so he thought.

He swung his sword at her, putting all his body and strength behind it, hoping to cast away or at least shatter the sword in her hand. Just before the swords connected, Azet stepped aside so that he would over balance and she gave him a little shove with the Force that sent him tumbling to the floor.  
She stepped on to his hand that was holding the sword, disarming him. He let out a groan of pain as the bones in his hand cracked but didn't break. She straddled him and nicked the surface of his skin with the tip of her sword, just deep enough so that it would bleed, but not heavily.

"Do you yield, Za?" she whispered softly in his ear, half harshly, half seductively. She had him just where she wanted him. With the claw tips of her free hand, she tickled him behind the ears and they twitched in response to her touch.

"You win, this time, Azet," Za yipped playfully.

Azet bent her head and flicked her tongue out to taste Za's blood, growling softly. Azet used the Force to float both swords to the other side of the room, away from them. She slackened her hold on him and as she did so, Za suddenly pinned her to the floor.

Force lightning crackled at the tips of Azet's fingers, an instinctive reaction to defend herself. She cut it off when she realised there was no threat, but not without giving Za a mild electric shock. She grinned at the pain creased on his face.

"Serves you right," she growled softly. She could feel his excitement mounting in his tense muscles and emotions as his muzzle came closer to hers. Za could feel the hurried beating of her pounding heart beneath him. Her eyes shone like twin suns set against the blackness of space as their fangs locked together. Za's comlink buzzed and he rose stiffly and angrily from the floor as he switched it on.

"This had better be important!" he barked into the receiver.

"Forgive me for disturbing you, but Governor Riyadah requests your presence immediately!"  
squeaked Laej, the greedy, overweight pile of blubber that consumed food like a Neimoidian accumulated credits who was the Governor Riyadah's Aide. When he wasn't stuffing his face, ogling females that wouldn't touch him with a barge pole or ridiculing Paladins for their "incompetence" he was scuttling around like a scared womp rat. None of the Paladins liked him and all would gladly blast his head off if the Governor didn't execute anyone for treason if they did.

Azet retrieved Za's sword using the Force and Za caught it in the air before sheathing it.

"I'm sorry, Azet. I have to go."

Azet sighed as Za left and she headed for the quarters she shared with Za. After showering and changing into a silver gown, she entered the secret chamber that housed her Sith artifacts. Among them were ancient documents and a necklace set with a red lifestone that enhanced the Darkside's power.

At times like this, she wished she had another to train, to share the secrets of the Force with. She wondered for the hundredth time why she didn't have a child by now, to train, to be with her when Za wasn't around. It wasn't for the lack of trying.

Her hand curled around the most important and rare artifact of all, the Sith holocron, before going back into the bedroom.

Outside, she could see the statue of the Emperor and loathed it. It was he who had caused her to be alone, he'd who had destroyed her friends, her home, her reason for caring about anything. She cursed Za for saving her, she should be dead along with the rest of the Jedi. At least then she would no longer know the pain of being alone, having to hide what you are, not showing others your true self and having to keep them away in case they found out what you were and betrayed you or worse, fear you and reject you. Even Za only kept her around for what he could get out of her and the only reason she stayed was because he was her only chance of no longer being alone and her best chance of getting revenge on the one who had made her this way.

The statue was a daily reminder of her pain and loneliness and she wanted to turn it into dust the way it had turned her life to dust, but she would get more satisfaction of killing the real Palpatine and taking away the thing that mattered most to him. His power.

She activated the holocron to learn the secrets of her foe, so that she could know how to defeat him.

***

A strange scent caused Ryqik to rise from his sleep. He shook the fogginess from his head and woke Nakita. She yawned sleepily and sniffed the air.

"Company," she said and Ryqik nodded.

Their eyes quickly adjusted to the low light levels and they were in the process of sneaking past the group of drunken street thugs when Nakita tripped up and sent containers clattering to the floor. The two Shistavanens looked at each other with trepidation and froze, hoping the darkness and the intoxicants would work to their advantage.

"What was that?"

Light from a glow rod was pointed in their direction and they tried to make themselves as invisible as possible.

"There's nothing there, you moron."

"I tell you, I heard something-"

The two thugs argued back and forth and traded insults until their leader silenced them.

"There is something there, I can smell it."

The leader, a Cathor male inched forward, pushing his minions aside. His light sensitive eyes picked out the shapes of the two young Shistavanens.

He let out a laugh, a spitting, mewing sound. "Well, well, look what we have here. A pair of lost puppies."

Ryqik placed himself protectively between his sister and the gang of thugs advancing on them. He realised too late that the abandoned hideout belonged to the street thugs. In the darkness, he saw the flash of light from one of the few remaining street lamps reflecting off a vibroblade as it was drawn and heard the soft, pulsating thrum of its activation. He could smell Nakita's fear and he feared more for her than for himself. He didn't want to lose her. She was his world.

"You know what happens to stray puppies, don't you? They get put down," the Cathor continued and his companions laughed at their leader's sick joke.

Ryqik got a good whiff of the Cathor's breath. It was laced heavily with alcohol and another substance he couldn't identify. It was that which was making them act this way and a sense of perverted enjoyment of seeing others suffer pain.

Ryqik quickly realised that they weren't much older than himself, two, maybe three years older. Still, that didn't make them any less dangerous and even though it was alcohol mixed with something else that was making them act this way, Ryqik had no sympathy for them. He had been unable to prevent the death of his parents but he wasn't going to let them hurt Kita. He reached inside his pocket and emitted a low, throaty growl.

"Oh, that's really scary, little mutt."

Ryqik's fingers curled around the handle of his lightsabre. He brought it out and depressed the switch that activated it and the room was illuminated with a silver glow.

Ryqik stepped forward and swung his lightsabre at the thug with the vibroblade, slicing him in two before he even realised what he was doing.

The rest turned and fled, Ryqik switched off the lightsabre and turned to Nakita, a mixture of fear, relief and amazement on her face.

He smiled at her, warm and friendly and she threw her arms around him for the second time in two days, cried out her fear. When her trembling ceased, Ryqik took her hand in his and led her out into the night.

"We'd better get out of here, Kita."

***

Azet deactivated the Sith holocron and returned it to the secret chamber. As she was resealing the entrance, Za entered, in a bad mood. "What did they want?"

"Darkfyre and Mallibai are still sore about the loss of the Stormtrooper squad. As they couldn't find Kopek to give him an earful, they decided to target me instead-"

"I could get rid of him for you, if he is such an annoyance."

"Kopek is too valuable. Besides, I need to keep your true existence quiet until the time is right."

"You are tense, Za. I can relax you a little."

"That would be good..."  
***

Azet made her way through the dark forest. Everything seemed larger, more real than it was, but there was also a dreamlike surrealness to her surroundings. Through the trees, she could see a pale, silver light. She made her way towards it and as things were with dreams, she suddenly found herself at the edge of a clearing, even though when she'd first seen the light it had seemed several metres away.

In the middle sat a large male Shistavanen with his shirtless back towards her, staring at the blade of a silver lightsabre. Through his fur, she could see the knotted muscles made powerful by a lifetime of constant fighting though he looked to be only in his early twenties.

There was something familiar about him and the name of a Jedi she once knew came to mind. Shirak. But it wasn't Shirak. Shirak had never wielded a silver blade. His had been green and he would have aged now, if he was still alive. This one was young, just starting out on his life's journey but even so, he had the look of one who had known more suffering than many sentients three times his age.

The vision faded and Azet was falling through the darkness of space. A star loomed dangerously close before her and she was being pulled into its fiery maw by its gravity.

Azet felt hot, hotter than she had ever felt in her life before...

***

Azet sat bolt upright in bed, almost disturbing the sleeping Za at her side. Her mouth felt dry and caused her to let out a small cough, but that didn't help. She pulled back the covers and swung her legs out of bed before reaching for the velvet robe that hung on the door of the wardrobe. She slipped it on and tied the sash at the her waist before walking bare foot into the kitchen to get a glass of water.

She didn't feel like going back to bed and decided to take a stroll in one of the walled gardens. The palace was over five hundred years old and displayed much of the original designs, art work and culture that defined the Shistavanen people before the Empire had arrived. Much of it was centred around the hunt but they were also a curious species, wanting to explore and find new places just for the excitement of being somewhere that no others of their species had ever been before. The palace was the only thing left of those times but even that was over shadowed by the statue of Palpatine. He didn't need to be present physically for the inhabitants of the palace to know his presence. The statue did that much pretty well for him.

Her claws clicked on the stone as she padded her way down the corridor to the steps that led out into her favourite garden. She came to the large hardwood door that opened out into the gardens and paused for a moment before opening it.

Her nose was assaulted by the scent of night blooming flowers and the night insects buzzed and hummed in the foliage. Much of the vegetation was native to the planet. The Shistavanens didn't believe in choking up their environment with things that didn't belong there. Much like the Imperial Occupation and the statue of Palpatine. A non-native plant would compete ruthlessly with the native species and if left unchecked would eventually cause the extinction of native plants and the diversity of wildlife would diminish because of it. That was what was happening to the Shistavanens at the moment. They were in a war where their way of life was being choked out by invaders and would eventually die out or worse, exist in a cage, like the last specimen of an endangered species and slowly dying alone because they couldn't fulfil what they were meant to.

As Azet made her way through the starlit garden, she heard voices. She recongnised them as Rivik and Nidet. She peered through the screen of carnivorous starflowers and saw the silhouettes of the two Paladins.

"Lyet was our best hope for freedom. Now she is gone-" Rivik was saying.

Nidet took Rivik's larger paw in hers. "We will find a way. We need to find Shirak," she mentioned the name of the Shistavanen Jedi that had been Lyet's twin brother. He had disappeared and no one knew if he was dead or alive, or even if he was still a Jedi.

"No. The Jedi are gone. If we are to fight Palpatine, it must be us and us alone, because we can't rely on anyone else."

"That was the way Senator Mizet thought," Nidet pointed to the statue of Palpatine, which was just visible over the garden wall, seemingly glaring down on the disloyal traitors like an angry god regarding blasphemers. "And that's what happened! We just aren't powerful enough."

"I will speak to Za and the-"

"Speak to Za?! He just wants to take power for himself! Why do you think he had Lyet killed anyway?"

"Ok. I'll not speak to Za. There are others who will want to taste freedom. We'll finish what Mizet began and if we are destroyed in the process, then it is better than living under the shadow of that," he indicated the statue. If Nidet had interrupted him like that in front of other Archetypes, he would not have even considered her view.

Nidet nodded. He was right. They must fight back, even if doing so meant they met the same fate as Mizet herself. To do nothing would mean the Empire would win anyway. Nidet rose up on her claws and kissed his muzzle before turning to go back into the palace.

Rivik watched her go and followed a few moments later. He yelped in pain when he stubbed his toe on something hard. The moon appeared from behind a cloud and he looked down to see what had hurt his foot. It was a fragment of stone. He bent to pick it up and held it in his paws. On closer inspection, he found that it was part of the lightsabre handle from the destroyed statue of Raqak. Rivik smiled to himself. The Jedi might be gone but their legacy still lived on. It felt like even now, the Jedi guardian was still there in spirit, still looking out for them.

Azet watched Rivik disappear up the steps and into the palace. She was confused. A Jedi her people needed, not a Sith. But a Sith is the only thing powerful enough to defeat a Sith. If it was otherwise, then why where the Jedi extinct?

A fluttering movement caught her eye. It was a moth, attracted to the starflowers by their scent, a promise of sweet nectar. But as soon as the moth landed, the petals contracted around it and Azet watched in morbid fascination as the trapped creature died and the digestion process begun.

Azet smiled to herself. The sight pleased her.


End file.
